Pros

Cons

Tested configuration was wildly pricey.

Bottom Line

Among expensive enthusiast desktops designed for peak performance and head-turning aesthetics, Maingear's F131 is among the pack leaders.

18 May 2018

Even hanging in the rarified company of other super-high-end enthusiast desktops, the Maingear F131 (starts at $1,699; $9,857 as tested) stands out. It packs blazing speeds and premium components into an intricately designed microATX build, complete with a custom hardline-piping open cooling loop and a large coolant reservoir. You can configure it with much less expensive parts, but the outrageously loaded-up model we tested is a feat of engineering. Whether you want to use it as an elite-level gaming desktop or as a general powerhouse and art piece, the F131 brims with excellence.

Masterful Design

The level of craftsmanship is top notch. From the size and shape of the liquid reservoir to the angles of the piping matching the build of the case, all of the components complement the others, resulting in a tight, great-looking design. The F131 is tall, but all the parts fit in precise fashion, allowing it to be more compact and slimmer than other systems of this caliber.

The aluminum case is black with red triangular accents, and the entire left panel is made of tempered glass. The case is lit with plentiful, but not overpowering, LED strips. (An included remote lets you change the colors and effects.) It's important to remember that I'm describing the $9,857 configuration we were loaned for testing when I reference the components and style. Maingear will build anything to order, customizing everything from the exterior paint job to the interior accent colors and components.

The tower measures 21.3 by 6.4 by 19 inches (HWD), significantly smaller than the chassis of the Acer Predator Orion 9000 (27.63 by 11.8 by 25.32 inches) and the Origin PC Genesis (25.26 by 9.75 by 24.8 inches). The Genesis also offers an eye-catching water-cooling setup, but it's not as intricate, and it looks a bit less impressive in the larger space.

The F131's tall, semi-translucent cooling block came filled, in our test unit, with red liquid, which feeds into the cooling loop made of metal tubing. This is a system Maingear calls Apex, engineered with Bitspower for the F131. It includes dual pumps (for fail-safe redundancy), pressure-regulated cooling, and sensors for both flow rate and temperature.

The radiator fits along the entire top of the case for maximized cooling—you can feel the heat emanating from the top while the system's running. The graphics card has its own mounted cooling block, as does the CPU (a much smaller one), both connected to the same loop. The interior of the F131 runs cool and very quiet as a result, essentially inaudible even while grinding through our benchmark tests. You can get the tubing in clear acrylic, as well, but the shiny metal looks slick, especially with the case lights reflecting off the joints and curves. The exterior of our case is finished with the Modern Camo paint scheme.

The rest of the build is just as high-end, with cutting-edge components that match the souped-up style. Our configuration of the F131 includes an MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard, an Intel Core i9-7980X Extreme Edition CPU (the 18-core monster at the top of Intel's enthusiast processor line), dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, 32GB of G.Skill Trident Z RGB memory, a 1TB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 SSD, a 4TB Seagate Barracuda hard drive, and a 1,200W EVGA Supernova P2 Platinum power supply. These are the best, or among the best, possible options for each component type.

Rather than ports on the front or top panel, the most accessible connections are located on the front end of the left side, reachable but not blemishing the face. Here, you will find four USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C port, and headphone and mic jacks. In a more traditional location around back, you'll find five more USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, another USB-C port, and not one but two Ethernet jacks. Other extras include Wi-Fi (it's built into the motherboard), lifetime service labor and phone support, and a one-year warranty.

Oh, Did We Mention It's Fast?

The F131 excels in every area of performance, and then some. The 18-core processor is more than equipped for any conceivable task you can throw its way, as we saw with the Genesis and the Falcon Northwest Talon that share the same chip.

The PCMark 8 benchmark, at its Work Conventional setting, measures general productivity for everyday tasks, but it can't quite demonstrate the capability of the chip. The score was very high, but the test doesn't stress the use of multiple cores, so the results tend to plateau at the high end.

The multimedia tests, particularly Cinebench, better demonstrate the processor's capability. It should be mouthwatering for media professionals who can save time and frustration with every extra second saved waiting for videos to render or filters to apply.

As you can see in the chart, the competition offers similarly blistering performance, which is what you'd expect and demand in this price tier. Even among those, though, the F131 stands out—no doubt because of the efficient cooling system keeping the components running near peak speeds. The main takeaway is that, in addition to looking fantastic, the F131 offers breakneck performance for enthusiasts of any kind.

That said, naturally the F131 can run any game extremely well. The 3DMark scores demonstrate its power on their own—any computer packing two GeForce GTX 1080 Ti cards is set up for success here, whether for gaming or demanding professional 3D applications. The pricey machines being compared here all fall into the same general chart-topping range, though the Talon's dual Nvidia Titan Xp cards just about edge out the others. On the Heaven and Valley gaming tests at ultra-quality settings and 4K resolution, the F131 churned out 97 frames per second (fps) and 111fps, respectively, without breaking a sweat. Gaming at 4K is a huge strain for most computers, but the F131 handles it with aplomb.

Support the Arts

The F131 is an art installation of a desktop; it's as much about immaculate craftsmanship as it is about top-end performance. Lower-configured versions of the F131, obviously, will not match its lofty speeds, so I'm only speaking for this wildly over-the-top build, but you should be able to fashion something from the F131 configurator that fits your needs and budget.

As we tested it, though, it's among the most expensive desktops that has crossed the lab bench in some time. Among the boutique-PC gaming elite, the F131 shines among the brightest in both design and performance, earning top marks across the board. No, not many shoppers will be able to afford this beast, but the carefully considered design and masterful execution make it our current favorite pick among the supercar-grade systems in this price range.

About the Author

Matthew Buzzi is a junior analyst on the Hardware team at PCMag. Matthew graduated from Iona College with a degree in Mass Communications/Journalism. He interned for a college semester at Kotaku, writing about gaming. He has written about technology and video game news, as well as hardware and gaming reviews. In his free time, he likes to go out with friends, watch and discuss sports, play video games, read too much Twitter, and obsessively manage any fantasy sports leagues he's involved in. See Full Bio